


débuts et fins

by Kieran (Ameenjouee)



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 11:54:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18093815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ameenjouee/pseuds/Kieran
Summary: Just a little something I wrote based on a character of mine for a Homebrew campaign I'm doing with my friends (Navine).Life generally wasn't fair, but even a small change can make a world of difference. How long that difference lasts really depends on the person.





	débuts et fins

**Author's Note:**

> As said in the description, this is based from a homebrew character for d&d 5e. I won't go into all of the details here because that's a lot of unnecessary information. All you need to know is this is set way before Navine's background really starts as far as is canon for campaign. It's just something I wanted to write for myself and one of my friends because we both got taken with the npc that was Renon.
> 
> As a bit of a heads up, he was created solely bc he was necessary based on rolled traits for Navine (I don't cherry pick traits when I make characters, though I will 'gamble' traits and have someone roll with me so if I dislike my roll I take the one they roll for me. It's led to some interesting outcomes). And he got fleshed out because Chimi and I were playing with ideas and I just wanted to write.

Small fingers tightened around the material of his mother's shirt hem, eyes darting around the little shops and stands as they walked. 

Usually, his dad would come stay with him while his mom went out, or he'd just bring whatever they needed in when he visited, but really? Renon was so not going to complain about getting to go with her. 

It wasn't the first time, exactly, that he'd been out exploring, but it was the first time that he really cared to take the time to look around. 

Of course, he still tore his gaze away from one of the shop fronts when he felt his mom place a hand around his shoulders to pull him closer as someone raced by with a shouted  _ 'sorry _ !'

He didn't exactly register more than that, though he did hear his mother give a disgruntled hum in response to the scene, glancing behind them before guiding him into one of the nearby shops. 

Exploration trip over, he supposed. That was fine, he'd get another chance to explore some other time, though he had been hoping that they wouldn't stop to get whatever supplies they'd come out for for a bit longer. 

No sooner than they had stepped out again than the same kid who'd rushed by them earlier showed back up.

Renon barely reacted fast enough to keep the bag that the other was holding from falling to the ground - well, someone sure was jumpy. 

Next thing he was fully aware of was his mother pushing one of their own bags into his arms and gathering the bag from the younger kid - female, now that Renon was actually paying attention. 

He didn't really catch what his mom was saying, too busy staring between the bag and his mom in confusion. He did, however, catch the soft,  _ 'come, we'll walk you home'. _

Guess exploration wasn't over yet, Renon thought, a spark of excitement going through him - and really, he had to admit to himself that the only thing that kept said excitement from showing more than through his expression was the fact that he really didn't want to drop the bag his mom had trusted him with. 

 

Of course, that excitement faded out a bit as they walked. Renon was careful to keep his gaze trained on his mom, and by extension this new girl, since he was trailing behind them to let them lead the way. No need to go getting lost, after all.

But paying that close attention to them let him see the almost fearful way that the girl looked around as they walked, only occasionally giving a direction before going quiet again. 

Still, he held his tongue - he didn't want the lecture from his mom about knowing when to bring something up. Now definitely wasn't the time to bring it up, not with the subject he wanted to discuss being right in front of him. 

Once they stopped outside a house - so,  _ so _ different from his own home, Renon thought absently - there was an exchange of a bag and a comforting smile from his mom, and they were on their way again. 

As soon as he was sure they were out of hearing distance of the girl, he spoke up. "She was scared,"

A brief glance was all the answer he was given in response. 

That was fine, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know why. Not right now. 

 

As it stood, his dad was the one to answer the questions he hadn't bothered to ask his mom - it would figure that she'd mention it.

And honestly, Renon was decidedly disgusted by what he was told, but not one bit surprised. That probably said a lot about his faith in the world, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. 

A kid or not, he'd seen and heard enough to know that some were treated much worse than others simply because of how they were born. He'd heard enough of the whispered conversations between his parents on nights where they were all together to have long been aware of how things worked. 

Still, the quiet warning of  _ stay away from her, she doesn't need you poking your nose where it doesn't belong _ settled strangely with him. He wasn't about to go poking his nose into someone else's business, though the reminder did bring him out of his curiosity about the earlier situation. 

 

The next time he saw the girl, almost a year had passed, and she was bigger now, no longer the tiny slip of a girl that had nearly bowled through his mother and him on the street. He gave a warm smile and a wave regardless of the echoed warning to leave her be echoing through his mind. 

A simple hello couldn't hurt, right?

If the startled expression was anything to go by, he was decidedly wrong about that, so he didn't try to approach her. 

That was fine. No need to press, he just wanted to at least try to be friendly. 

If nothing else, he could blame that on his mom and carry on like nothing had happened, since she was careful to instill him with the warning to give everyone a fair shot without judging them for something they had no say over. He liked to think he was better off for those lessons, even if he hadn't understood why it was so important when it had first come up. 

Still, he was careful to move about his business after that, not wanting to press his luck and draw more attention to either of them. 

* * *

Of course, his resolve to keep his distance and just be friendly whenever they had to interact in public crumbled a little the next time he saw the girl, a couple weeks later, sat on the steps of a shop, covered in bruises that definitely hadn't been there last time he saw her.

He hesitated in front of her, trying to find a way to broach the topic before deciding it best not to ask and giving a wry smile when wary eyes found his own. 

"Want me to walk you home so you can get those tended to?" 

No verbal response came, but the small twitch of her lips upward set him at ease that the offer wasn't an overstep of boundaries that he wasn't sure about as it was. 

The walk there was quiet for the longest, Renon only speaking up again when they were nearly to her home. "I'm Renon, by the way. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I think that might be just a  _ little _ rude considering you're hurt,"

The careless way he said it got a laugh, and really, he should not feel so proud of that but if it kept the fear out of the girl's expression, he'd take sounding rude over being cautious and damn the consequences of it. 

He didn't get her name until he was turning to walk back into the heart of town, pausing only to look back when she offered it before he grinned and waved. Navine. He'd have to remember that for next time he saw her, if there was a next time. 

 

One thing he didn't do was keep secrets from his parents, so he was careful to tell them as soon as he saw them both. 

He saw the concern flash through his dad's eyes, and the pride in his mom's, and he had to fight to keep the defensive tone out of his words. 

No one said anything for the longest, then his dad spoke, voice weary but understanding. "If you're going to befriend her, just take care of yourself,"

"I always do,"

"That's what I'm worried about,"

The joking tone was almost swallowed by the concerned undertone, but Renon didn't call it out. He understood, his parents were just worried for his safety. 

* * *

“ _ Hey _ , leave her alone,”

Renon almost didn’t recognize his own voice, too loud, too cold for him to fully register that it was him who’d said anything.

He ignored his mother’s warning look as he darted off ahead of them, putting himself between Navine and the kid that was trying to  _ hurt _ her. 

Hell, this kid couldn’t be any older than she was, and really, Renon wondered why people who would let their kids become like this were allowed to have kids sometimes. 

Still, he didn’t do more than narrow his eyes at the kid, signalling for Navine to go as he did so. He didn’t want a fight but if it came to one, he wanted her out of the way so she didn’t get caught in the crossfire. 

As it was, he could see the uncertainty in the other’s expression - people were staring, so Renon figured a fight wasn’t about to break out. His earlier words had drawn too much attention for that to go over well.

He could feel fingers at the back of his shirt, pulling at it gently, and even without it being paired with words, he knew Navine wasn’t about to wander off and leave him in a risked confrontation.

This time, he decided, he’d let it go. 

He immediately guided the girl over to where his mom stood waiting, eyebrow raised and a pointed look on her face. 

“That wasn’t careful, Renon,”

Renon met her eyes briefly before shrugging and looking away. “I could’ve totally taken him,”

Navine gave a quiet laugh at that, though the sound was weary and decidedly full of concern. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved..”

Renon shrugged again, his expression changing slightly. “And let someone hurt my friend? I don’t think so. Come on, help us with the shopping, come spend some time, I’ll walk you home later so that doesn’t happen again!”

 

It took some convincing, but eventually Navine had taken up a near permanent residence with Renon’s family during the days when she ventured out of her own home. It was peaceful. 

Renon still found her out in town on her own a lot, but left her aside from a smile or a wave. He knew she didn’t fully trust him yet - fair enough, honestly, he wouldn’t trust someone like him either in her shoes. 

But he had to admit that he was more than a little proud when she finally started trusting him. It had taken almost two years, but damn it progress was progress and he was going to be proud of what he could. 

Of course, he wasn’t a fool. He knew him hanging around didn’t keep her safe unless he was  _ right there _ , and with her tendency to wander off and want to be alone, he couldn’t do that without breaking what little trust she’d placed in him. Not something he was willing to do, even to keep her safe. 

After all, scaring her off would only prove to do the opposite of what he wanted. 

Plus, she still tried hiding injuries from him unless they were too obvious to hide, or needed more medical attention than just cleaning and letting it heal on its own. Renon was definitely not about to push his luck and risk making it worse. 

Still, with her trusting him came him putting himself in harm’s way more to make sure she was okay on the instances where he stumbled across a fight.

She wasn’t a fighter, but that was fine, because Renon decidedly  _ was _ when it came to those who couldn’t protect themselves. 

It meant coming away with his own injuries and scars sometimes, but he wore them proudly. His parents were mildly amused every time he came in wearing a wild grin and a new injury, sometimes with Navine trailing warily behind him and other times alone. 

* * *

One of the days when they made their way back to his place after an incident, Renon spent the entire time the two of them were getting patched up talking about what he’d learned from his mom about the fey, and about the stories his dad told him about where he lived, and once he was sure they’d gotten through the worst of it with her completely calm for the first time, he moved into future plans.

He wanted to make things better for more people than just her, and honestly it was the first time that his mom had heard any of this, as well.

But really, who expected a twelve year old to know what he wanted to make of himself? 

The look on Navine’s face - struck but open in a way she’d never allowed herself to be - made it worth the instant doubt that had come when he saw his mother’s surprised look. 

 

With them getting older, Renon knew it was a matter of time before the beatings got worse. And due to that, he did his best to stick close to Navine. It didn’t always help, but it evened the odds out a little bit - Navine still couldn’t fight, she didn’t want to hurt anyone so she’d all but refused to learn when Renon and his father both offered to teach her basics so she could defend herself better. 

And the more violent things got, the more it boosted his confidence when they both walked away fine - bruises, scrapes, the occasional busted lip or broken nose, but that was nothing compared to what it could be. 

Navine relaxed more as these times came and went too, playing along with his jokes and teasing comments.

It didn’t keep the worry out of her words when she’d tell him he was going to get himself killed one of these days trying to protect her, he really needed to be more careful. 

Renon didn’t care, if he were honest. If he died, he died, it was worth it to risk it. The first time the tone ventured from actual concern to slightly bemused, he answered with a cheerful, too confident,  _ Kill me? Yeah right, I’d like to see them try, they’re not strong enough.  _

The laugh it pulled from Navine was echoed in his own voice, and they both agreed to never mention that bit to his parents or her own mom. 

 

The stories he got from her about her mom were slightly disconcerting - he’d grown up used to both his parents being around - but he could see the caring in the stories. 

And so, he held his tongue, didn’t question it, and did his best to cheer Navine up on the times where her mom was gone for a while. 

* * *

His fourteenth birthday, his dad handed him a necklace that he immediately pulled over his head. It wasn’t anything special, but it gave him something to mess with when he was around Navine and they were telling stories and jokes and laughing.

As those times went by following his birthday, he came to realize that he was really going to miss these moments when he had to leave. 

He hadn’t mentioned it to her, but he knew he’d have to leave for a while to get anything done. He wanted to improve things but he needed to know more before he could do that. 

But he didn’t want to taint the nicer moments by mentioning it, so he kept quiet about it, ignoring the looks his parents would give him when he did so. 

On one of the days where Navine needed patching up, Renon’s dad spoke up while he worked on the injuries. “I still think you should learn to defend yourself, Navi. You’ll need to know how for while Renon’s travelling.”

Navine glanced up, looking at the man in surprise before looking over to Renon with a small smile. “I’ll be fine,”

Renon wasn’t sure if that was meant to be reassurance for him or a denial of learning to fight or both, but it got a warm smile out of him regardless. “Of course you will be! You’re still welcome here whenever you need, and it isn’t like you’re not fast enough to run away if you get the opening,”

Navine kicked at him for the teasing tone, and things settled after that. 

When they left for Renon to walk her home later that evening, she spoke again. “You better tell me all about your travels or I’ll never talk to you again,”

Renon gasped, then rested an arm across her shoulders so he could lean down to be closer to her level, meet her eyes better - she was still shorter than him and it was a constant sore point for her that never failed to make him laugh. “You wouldn’t stop talking to me, you’d miss me,”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d miss you. But I’d still be mad,”

Renon laughed quietly, nodding his agreement. “I’ll keep a journal for you.”

Navine grinned in response, relaxing slightly at that.

* * *

Two days before Renon turned fifteen, and a week before he was determined to leave to begin his travels, he pulled his necklace off and put it around Navine’s neck while they were out in town looking for any last minute things he’d need before he left.

She frowned, looking down at the charm for a moment before looking up at him with a confused sound. 

“My dad gave it to me. Keep it until I get home,”

Navine plucked the charm up to run her fingers over the surface of it before shrugging in response. “Okay. This just means you have to come home to get it back,”

“I have been way too bad an influence on you. I’m supposed to be the one who says that kind of stuff, not you. You’re supposed to be the sweet one,” Renon complained jokingly. 

Navine hummed absently, looking back at the shops they were passing. “That’s your own fault.”

* * *

Really, Renon should’ve known better than to fully relax while they were out.

And honestly, if Navine would’ve just left him behind he could’ve easily gotten out of the situation but he supposed fight or flight was a bitch when faced with these kind of odds. 

As it was, Navine was stubborn that she was not leaving him behind when they were outnumbered.

Oh, his dad was going to kill him and he knew it. 

So much for careful. 

 

Once they’d been left alone, Renon went to pick himself up off the ground before he let out a pained huff, hand flying to his side and coming away wet. “Shit.” he grumbled

Navine looked absolutely terrified, and Renon tried offering a calming smile but honestly, he could feel it was more of a grimace than a smile. 

“Hey, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. Just give me a second, we’ll get up and go home,” Renon offered, stubbornly ignoring the taste of blood in his mouth - definitely a busted lip, he’d recognize the taste anywhere after having gotten more than his fair share. 

Navine edged closer, ignoring the cuts she had to try to help put pressure on the deeper ones that Renon had gained trying to keep her safe. 

“I’m so sorry,”

Renon huffed, but didn’t correct her like he usually would. 

He kept his eyes trained ahead of them, trying to keep his own fear hidden from Navine - this didn’t feel right, something was decidedly  _ wrong _ , but he wasn’t going to let her know that. 

Due to that, he saw a few double takes, and saw some kid dart off to get help after staring for a long moment before he finally closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. “Go get my dad.”

“What? No! I’m not leaving you here, Renon,” Navine snapped, fingers shaking against his side before firming up again and going back to applying pressure. “I’m going to stay here with you.”

Renon went to argue, then just huffed and laid back, staring at the sky for a few moments before closing his eyes again briefly. 

“Stay awake,” Navine snapped once Renon’s breathing staggered a bit, snapping him back into reality with a confused noise. “Stay awake. You’ve lost too much blood to just go to sleep,”

Renon trained his eyes on her for a moment before giving a small smile. “Of course, anything for you. Can’t leave you alone out here, now can I?”

The joking tone didn’t pull a smile like it usually did, and really, Renon couldn’t blame her. He was too exhausted to put more into a joke to make her relax. The adrenaline from the fight was fading out now, and he could feel it.

He patted her hand gently, then turned his gaze towards the sky and away from her concerned expression. 

_ Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,  _ died on his tongue before he could even think of saying it aloud. 

He wasn’t fine, and he wasn’t entirely sure he would be either, but he couldn’t say that. He didn’t want to worry her more. 

Once his vision faded in and out a few times, he groaned and closed his eyes before it could make him feel worse. “Navi, please, go get my dad,”

“You can’t even sit up on your own,” Navine countered, sounding more frantic now than she had before. 

“I’m fine. Just go,” 

He didn’t feel her move, and he just resigned to the fact that she wasn’t going to leave him there alone. That was fair. He wouldn’t have left her if the situation were reversed. 

Guess he really didn’t get to protect her like he wanted. What a shame. 

He let his hand fall away from hers, eye opening briefly to look up at her before offering a weak smile. “You’re so different now,”

“Shut up. You shouldn’t be talking right now.”

Renon shrugged, glancing towards the street when he heard feet approaching. He knew there wasn’t anything that could be done for him at this point, but he felt better knowing that Navine wasn’t going to be totally alone. 

He offered a tired smile to the shopkeeper and the kid that had approached them, though he didn’t really hear what they said. “Make sure she gets home. Please.”

Navine gave him a startled look, but if she said anything, he didn’t hear it. 

She’d be fine, and he was content to drift off, too exhausted to keep his eyes open anymore.

Everything would be fine, it had to be. 


End file.
